Surprise visitor

19102009

This was the view I had on the way down to the incinerator after lunch today (thanks for lending the camera, Chris!):

View of the McMurdo harbor. The old incinerator building we are using for staging ENDURANCE is on the right, the sea ice runway is visible in the middle with the C-17 on the apron and B-212 helicopter flying overhead.

Zoomed-in view of the apron of the sea ice runway. Also visible are the B-212 with a sling load of cargo, and, in the foreground, Robert Scott's hut from the Discovery expedition in 1902.

There was a lot of activity going on, the helo (helicopter) flying by, the bulldozer dozing, oh, and the C-17 had arrived on the sea ice runway right next to the station. “Interesting,” I thought, “I guess they’re doing flights on consecutive days at this time of year,” since Shilpa was supposed to arrive on the flight coming in tomorrow.

We all went on to the incinerator and had a productive afternoon. Bart and Chris got one of the batteries finished up, and were able to hook it up to ENDURANCE and verify that it worked and the on-board computer was able to read data from it (it’s pretty critical to know how much power is left and if there are any problems in the batteries) and control it. Vickie and Rachel were also able to verify that the spare thruster works.

Just before we were going to leave for dinner, Vickie says, “So, Shilpa arrived today.” To which I respond, “No, she’s coming tomorrow.” Vickie: “Well, she just sent me an email saying she’s in Crary [the science lab] and wondering where we are.” Sure enough, when we got up to dinner, we found Shilpa sitting alone at one of the “suicide” tables (little tables against the wall way in the back of the back room where people often go to sit for some privacy). We managed to convince her not to kill herself ;), and found out that all of the calendars and schedules we had simply had the wrong day for her arrival. She was on that C-17 that we had all noted as a mild curiosity on our way to work.

Note:Write in with your comments and questions! I’d love to give more information on the particular things that interest each of you.

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4 responses

There is another hut built by Scott during the subsequent ill-fated 1910 Terra Nova Expedition. It’s located about 25 km north of here on Cape Evans. I think that’s the hut you’re thinking of. The hut in the picture (appropriately on Hut Point) is only a few hundred meters from the main base.

Nice to hear that Shilpa has arrived. Papa and I wondered whether she was to be part of the team again. Sebastian (Bleichert) follows your blog and finds it very interesting and informative and will try to make comments when he has the time 🙂